The woman’s neighbor told police Anthony Priestas, 23, gave her a “very angry look” when she told him to stop hurting the dogs, the Chicago Tribune reported.

She allegedly saw Priestas slam one of the pugs on the ground several times last month and heard an animal “screeching” in pain, the newspaper said. The resident tried to stop him, but he drove away, the Associated Press reported.

Priestas is accused of stealing the two dogs, Marley and Mugsy, from a home in Porter Township, Indiana (about 57 miles southwest of Chicago), beating the two dogs to death and then throwing them in the water, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported. The owner, Brandy Ortiz, wasn’t home at the time, the Tribune reported.

Animal control officers found the two dogs in a water-filled culvert, the newspaper reported. Ortiz and her family later identified them at an animal shelter.

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